A Fiji Air pilot had been drinking alcohol less than 4h before his Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante crashed, the pilot's brother has alleged on Australian television. The accident happened on a flight from Fiji's capital, Suva, to Nadi, the island's international airport, on 24 July. Wreckage disposition, however, appears to support witness reports that the aircraft broke up in flight.
Australia's Bureau of Air Safety Investigation has agreed to a request from Fiji's Department of Civil Aviation to investigate the crash. All 17 occupants were killed when the aircraft hit mountainous terrain about 15min into the flight.
The tail fin and horizontal stabilisers were found 300m (985ft) to the left of the line of flight, but the right wing and engine are missing. Witness accounts appear consistent with pre-impact structural failure.
Source: Flight International
